


oh baby, why don't you just meet me in the middle?

by hwaslintroller



Series: SEONGJOONG ... ?! [4]
Category: ATEEZ (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Assassins & Hitmen, Alternate Universe - Coffee Shops & Cafés, Established Relationship, Fluff and Angst, Hurt/Comfort, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-28
Updated: 2020-02-28
Packaged: 2021-02-28 01:20:03
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 876
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22935463
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hwaslintroller/pseuds/hwaslintroller
Summary: ‘It’s okay,’ Hongjoong says. He presses his forehead to Seonghwa’s, and they breathe together for a second. ‘It’s okay,’ Hongjoong mutters into Seonghwa’s skin, pressed to the blooming bruises on his cheekbone. ‘Just- come back to me, okay?’or, seonghwa's an assassin and hongjoong's a café owner. they're not so different, really— after all, they're in love.
Relationships: Kim Hongjoong/Park Seonghwa
Series: SEONGJOONG ... ?! [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1632400
Comments: 15
Kudos: 182





	oh baby, why don't you just meet me in the middle?

**Author's Note:**

> a snippet from a bigger au i'm going to write! i'll be consistently updating little snapshots of it on my [twitter](https://twitter.com/hwaslintroller) so you can read more there! (as if i don't exclusively write sad fluff)  
> i have ongoing aus and some finished ones in pinned as well! the title is taken from zedd/ maren morris/ grey's song 'the middle' <3

When Seonghwa walks into the shop, Hongjoong drops a dish. 

‘What the _fuck_ , Seonghwa,’ Hongjoong hisses, paying no regard to the smashed ceramic pieces even as Seonghwa stares at him in mild horror- that’s one of Hongjoong’s favourite plates, with the cute paw prints on the sides. ‘What _happened_ to you?’

Seonghwa startles as Hongjoong takes big strides across the café to stand in front of Seonghwa, eyes narrowed and swimming with anger. ‘What the _fuck_.’ he repeats, and Seonghwa wants to laugh because he’s managed to make witty, language genius Kim Hongjoong use the same adjective in under thirty seconds. 

‘It’s nothing.’ Seonghwa tries, holding his hands up in a surrendering gesture. ‘Just got into a fight, that’s all.’ There’s something swimming in Hongjoong’s eyes that Seonghwa can’t put a finger on, something big and encompassing and- sour, so distinct from the sarcastic, gruff-yet-secretly-sweet thing he usually has going on. 

Hongjoong’s eyes trace the bruises on Seonghwa’s face, reaching out a shaky hand involuntarily and then retracting it with a jerk, as if he was burned, as if he was _afraid_. Hongjoong opens his mouth to say something and then it hits Seonghwa, what the emotion fogging over the stars in Hongjoong’s eyes is- it’s anguish. Hongjoong opens his mouth to say something and then closes it with a click, taking a deep breath before turning his back on Seonghwa, heading towards the back of the shop.

Seonghwa’s throat goes dry, and he wants to slap himself because he knows Hongjoong knows, knows how Hongjoong worries about him even if they’ve reached a silent agreement not to speak about it. It’s just- he just feels so _comfortable_ around Hongjoong he’d forgotten to hide the extent of his injuries tonight.

Guilt swirls in Seonghwa’s stomach because great, he’s gone and fucked this up again, can feel the familiar ache of a migraine pressing up behind his eyes. He’s gone and ruined something so beautiful and pure and _good_ as Hongjoong is, something he shouldn’t even have assumed he had the luxury to have in the beginning. 

A crash and low swearing pulls Seonghwa from his thoughts, and he looks up to Hongjoong shuffling to carry a big plastic box across the narrow threshold. He totes the box across the room and sets it down with a crash, opening the lid. Immediately, the familiar scent of antiseptic fills the room and Seonghwa realizes- it’s a first aid kit.

Hongjoong’s muttering under his breath, heated phrases as he pulls out a yellow tube of bruise cream, lathering it over his fingers when he grabs Seonghwa’s chin with his cream-free hand and smears it across Seonghwa’s cheekbone.

Seonghwa’s breath hitches. ‘Hongjoong, what are you-’

‘Shush,’ and there’s a tremor in Hongjoong’s voice, something awfully like a rope stretched too tight, that has Seonghwa shutting up instantly. ‘Just- let me do this, okay?’ 

So Seonghwa stays silent as Hongjoong gently applies bruise cream over his injuries, closing his eyes when Hongjoong tells him to. For once, Seonghwa loses count of time and lets himself just bask in the feeling of being taken care of, even when he tries- and fails- to contain his yelp when Hongjoong switches to rubbing alcohol over cotton buds when he swipes at the cuts in Seonghwa’s eyebrow and nosebridge. That has Hongjoong giggling a little, tense shoulders relaxing a moment, before the air around them settles once more. 

Once Hongjoong’s deemed his handiwork acceptable and locked away his supplies in the box again, they just stand there for a moment. Then Hongjoong’s hands come up to cup Seonghwa’s cheeks, thumb brushing over a new bandage. It’s a moment before he speaks.

‘You scared me, Seonghwa.’ It’s quiet, kept safe in their little bubble. Seonghwa has to look up at Hongjoong at his sitting position, and from his angle the dim lights on the ceiling cast a soft halo around Hongjoong’s hair, making him impossibly ethereal especially for nearly 12:00 a.m. on a Monday evening. ‘I know you-’ _I know what you’re up to-_ he clears his throat. ‘I don’t want to see you like this again.’

For a moment, Seonghwa lets himself feel. He lets his hand rest over the back of Hongjoong’s on his face, and lets it all go. Lets go of the screams of his father, lets go of all the blood and gore, lets go of the weight threatening to crush him alive. Instead, he focuses on the way he breathes with Hongjoong, the warmth of Hongjoong’s palms, the almost-maybes they’ve shared and are sharing now, how much he likes Hongjoong but can’t let himself take the leap.

‘Me too,’ he murmurs, opening his eyes to look at Hongjoong. Hongjoong looks a little less distressed, now, so Seonghwa forges on. ‘I’m sorry I can’t promise that, though.’

‘It’s okay,’ Hongjoong says. He presses his forehead to Seonghwa’s, and they breathe together for a second. ‘It’s okay,’ Hongjoong mutters into Seonghwa’s skin, pressed to the blooming bruises on his cheekbone. ‘Just- come back to me, okay?’

‘Okay,’ Seonghwa says, head spinning, as Hongjoong pulls back to let his lips brush across Seonghwa’s forehead. ‘Okay.’ He repeats, even though he doesn’t know if it’s Hongjoong or himself he’s trying to convince.

**Author's Note:**

>  **please consider leaving a comment so fic writers don't think they're posting for nothing!! please give me some feedback if you will!!**  
>  i hope you enjoyed this fic and have a nice day!!
> 
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